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Political instability in Nelson Mandela Bay has brought the Metro to an unacceptable point where the local economy is at a tipping point and basic service delivery is collapsing.
These were the sobering words of NMB Chamber President Loyiso Dotwana during his address at the organisation's twelfth Annual General Meeting on Wednesday.
He warned that the City is either at the cusp of a fast descent to the bottom or at the beginning of a new way forward where decisive actions were taken to fix what is broken so that new opportunities can be unlocked.
Dotwana emphasised that the instability has given rise to a dysfunctional Municipality grappling with a myriad of issues.
He pleaded with the political and administrative leaders of the Metro to put their differences aside and get on board with the growing movement for positive change and resurgence, and deliver the stability needed to get the Metro working again.
Also speaking at the AGM, Chamber CEO Denise van Huyssteen said it was not too late to reign in the decay and change the trajectory of Nelson Mandela Bay. She said since last year, the Chamber has been at the forefront of driving the Metro's resurgence through several initiatives geared toward addressing some of the challenges facing the region.
"The collapse of Municipal infrastructure and basic services has required the Chamber to adopt a more activist and action-orientated approach," Van Huysteeen said.
Chamber guest speaker, Minister of Public Enterprises, Pravin Gordhan, praised the business sector for the resilience shown during these difficult times, saying he welcomed the commitment to making the Metro work.
"What is interesting is the resilience that you demonstrate in some of the statements that you make, not the complaint's part but the vision part where you are saying whether local government works or not, we want to make the city work," Gordan said.
